engelhard-19-20

Headshot courtesy of Central Athletics and Whitman Athletics

Bringing NCAA Division III tournament experience as both a player and a coach, Kayla Engelhard will join Central College’s resurgent women’s basketball program as assistant coach.

Since 2017, Engelhard served as an assistant at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, which finished the year ranked No. 5 in the WBCA top-25 poll after upsetting then-No. 5 Wartburg College in a second-round NCAA tournament game in Waverly on March 7 before the remainder of the tourney was canceled. The Blues posted a 68-15 mark with two NCAA berths during her three seasons tenure there. She was a graduate assistant at Concordia University Chicago from 2015-17 while earning a master’s degree in sports administration.

Engelhard is a 2015 graduate of Calvin University (Mich.) where she earned first-team all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association honors in 2014-15 after averaging 13.1 points. A four-year starter and two-year team co-captain, she scored 1,154 points in her career and ranks fifth in school history with 333 assists. The Knights won three MIAA titles during her career, reaching the NCAA Elite Eight twice. In 2018-19 she participated in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Mentor Program and attended the Women’s Coaching Summit in 2018. She is a National Strength & Conditioning Association-certified strength and conditioning specialist.

Engelhard joins a program on the upswing. This past season, coach Joe Steinkamp led the Dutch to their most wins (15) since 1997-98 and their first American Rivers tournament berth since 2004-05.